Introduction

I pulled into an empty parking lot. The barren lot seemed unusual for a sunny Saturday afternoon. I glanced at the plaza across the street. Harris Teeters, Starbucks and Sports Clips were teeming with activity. Yet, I was the only one in the parking lot at Devine’s Jewelers.

I was searching for an engagement ring, and Google maps sent me this direction.

Inside, Devine’s was a beautiful store. The salesperson greeted me with a smile and warm welcome. The owner walked out to introduce himself. This was the exact experience I was hoping for. Like many first-time diamond buyers, I had no idea where to start. Days earlier, I started my research online. Blue Nile, an ecommerce jeweler, was the first place I looked. After all, they were the first result when I searched “Engagement Rings” on Google. But, I soon discovered that there was a whole lot more about buying an engagement ring than I realized. As I tried to navigate the difference between carrot, cut, clarity and color something became clear. I needed help.

I knew I needed an expert. I need an independent retailer.

Devine’s got lucky that day. They happened to be the closest store to me when I typed “jewelry stores near me” into Google maps. But something happened inside Devine’s that day that startled me.

After chatting with the owner of the store, Gary, for a few minutes, something dawned on him. He didn’t know how I arrived at his store that day. He looked at me and asked, “So Keegan, how did you find out about us?” My first instinct was to give him a high five. It’s always a great idea to ask new faces how they found out about your business. That was great until we went further into the conversation.

“Oh, Google maps,” I responded, “I was running errands and decided to see if there was a jewelry store close by.”

Gary’s eyes lit up. “Wow, that’s amazing! Ha,” he said with a chuckle. I looked up from the jewelry case. I left a passing glance with the younger store associate who seemed to hide rolling eyes. Gary continued, “I hear all about Twitter and those things all the time. It’s amazing.”

“Sure is,” I said. “Do you do a lot online to market the store?”

“No, we don’t keep up with those types of things here. But people find us using Twitter and all that from time to time though. I’m always amazed when they do.”

Our conversation continued for a few minutes. I looked at some diamonds and a few settings. Yet, my mind was elsewhere. The back of my mind was racing. “Do I say something?” I thought, “Is this an appropriate moment to switch into education mode?” You see, Gary was like the hundreds of retailers I’ve spoken with during my career. He had it all going for his business. He had a beautiful store. His staff was knowledgeable and well trained. They carried a great selection and had a beautiful showroom. He had everything consumers want in a jeweler and they’d been in business for years. But the parking lot was empty. According to Forbes, the online jewelry market is growing by 5% per year. Not only did Gary lack a plan to capture the growth in online sales, but he also didn’t even market the brick and mortar online.

Even my own buyer journey began with a search online. The first result was an ad for the e-retailer Blue Nile. It’s hard to even quantify the potential Blue Nile has to crush our nation’s mom and pop jewelers.

Gary got lucky that day. I was across the street from his store when I typed in “jewelry store near me”. Most of the time, retailers don’t get so lucky.

I bowed out of the store without continuing the buyer’s journey with Devine’s. My mind was back on independent retailers.

Digital Presence

Back in my car, out of curiosity, I pulled out my phone. Devine’s lacked a website, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account. Nothing came up in Google when I searched for them. Their entire online presence amounted to their Google My Business page. The one I found on Google maps. An excellent small business was nearly invisible on the busiest highway in the world. The internet. It’s not Gary’s fault he confused Twitter with Google maps. After all, I didn’t know the difference between color and clarity. But I knew it had a big impact on the diamond.

I bought my engagement ring from a different independent retailer several weeks later. I’ll never forget what the owner said to me after I purchased the ring from them. As I left the store with my engagement ring in hand, she said something that struck me.

“Best wishes on your proposal, and when you can, please leave us a review online, on Facebook or Google. Those online reviews are so important for our business.”

If you learn one lesson from this book, please let it be this. The best small businesses know digital marketing is important. These stores choose to make it a part of everyday operations. This decision to pay attention to digital marketing is leading to growth. The businesses that are embracing digital marketing and technology are still thriving. I want that for your business too. So, I wrote this book.

My Story

I’ve spent my entire career helping independent retailers with their local marketing. In college, I worked for a company that sold print advertising to retailers. The company published free publication papers, daily newspapers and circulars. I worked as a sales assistant. All summer I drove to stores and talked to store owners. I spoke with independent grocers, jewelers and pet stores about what type of ads they’d like to run. I met with contractors, groomers, car dealers and more. I spoke with just about every type of small business you can think of. I learned a lot from these small business owners.

After college, I joined New Media Retailer. We build websites, manage social media, create digital ads campaigns and build email blasts for stores. I helped found our ecommerce division from scratch. In the past ten years, our company has worked with over 1,500 store owners. I’ve attended close to a hundred independent retail trade shows. Even speaking at many of them.

Over the past ten years, I’ve noticed some recurring themes. There are universal questions and struggles when it comes to digital marketing. The goal of this book is to take a step forward. This book is an easy to use guide. We explore the essentials of digital marketing that impact independent retail stores. I’ll share stories from my experience seeing what’s worked and what has not. We’ll discuss budgets and pitfalls as well as opportunities. My goal is to help you put this information to work in your business.

Retail Today

In the physical world retail best practices seem more obvious. You wouldn’t build your brick and mortar store behind a stone wall. You wouldn’t let your storefront look outdated and run down. You wouldn’t let your shelves look empty or dark. You wouldn’t hire unprofessional salespeople. You wouldn’t keep all your inventory in cardboard boxes in the back of the store. Because, if you did, your parking lot would be empty on Saturdays.

So why do countless store owners all over the country do these things to their business on the internet?

• Store built behind a stone wall = Poor local SEO
• Rundown storefront = Outdated, non-mobile friendly homepage
• Empty, dark shelves = No landing pages about the business and its services
• Unprofessional salespeople = no Frequently Asked Questions pages, no online chat nor quick contact forms
• Hide inventory in cardboard boxes = No product catalog online

Today, 88% of consumers research online before buying in a retail store. Moreover, “near me” searches in Google have grown by over 500% in the last few years. This means people are using their phones to search for specific things in specific areas. Searches like, “jewelry store near me” or “Can I buy a Dewalt drill near me” or “Merrick dog food near me”. These searches are so powerful that Google suggests them right away. Go ahead and try it. Open Google and type in “hardware store” or “pet store” into the search bar. Now, look at the drop-down of autofill suggestions. You will see “near me”, “nearby” or the name of your town or city. Looking for a nearby store is such a popular search term that Google autofills it immediately.

A consumer’s first step in the buying journey used to be calling a store or opening the yellow pages. In the past, the consumer may have driven right to your store. Today’s consumer is way too spoiled for all that. Now, the buying journey begins with Google. Consumers look for the item or store near them. Next, they evaluate your business online before deciding whether to visit your store.

As a store owner, you put a ton of work into your store every day. You buy and install beautiful lighting fixtures. You switch out end caps, train employees and organize shelves. Yet, how much effort do you put into your website?

Is your website secure? When was the last time you wrote a blog? Do you come up in Google for the products you...